“It starts at the top,” Howe told DiversityInc CEO Luke Visconti at a DiversityInc event, adding that an inclusive business culture is Ernst & Young’s greatest asset. “At the end of the day, it’s the people,” Howe said (see video). He personally appoints members of the diversity council, signs off on executive compensation tied to diversity metrics, and regularly meets with resource groups. DiversityInc has called him a “very public diversity advocate.”

Howe joined Ernst & Young in 1983. Prior to his role as Area Managing Partner, he ran the firm’s Financial Services practice, where he had served as an audit partner and a senior advisory partner.